On the Doll

I love this site. I usually pay a lot of attention to the scores before I watch a movie. In this case I am glad I didn't pay attention.

I watch a lot of independent films, but i don't pay attention to who made what who starred in what. I just don't care. I just watch and enjoy. I wasn't good at book reviews when i was a kid, and nothings changed but here goes...

I think the low votes must be from people who found the movie too shocking. Or people who couldn't empathize or want to empathize with the characters. It is not necessarily graphic or vulgar. Its not even that dark. Its just unique. It is just the right mix of real life drama/Hollywood.

All I can say is watch this movie. And if you are better than me at giving reviews then do everyone else a favor and clue them in.

A larded use of content considered taboo and shocking by the general populace with plenty of oddly written dialog coming at you wrapped in artistic pretension. On The Doll serves to exploit a serious issue. Pedophilia, molesters, right along side with their abused children are all here on the plate as entertainment. Though the editing is well executed its the opposite of being a '"star vehicle" for Brittany Snow. The other actors give us their best student like performances. Yes, this film is terrible but not in the fun way. The end leaves one wondering what is the exact personal problem(s)of writer/director Thomas Mignone to take such an interest here.

Just saw the film and still can't make my mind about it.

while it seems to raise a painful picture of sexual deviancy, and its effect on the main characters it's not deep enough to make the point it tries to make. The main visual representation of the idea is a misfired bullet from a gun (phallic symbol, no doubt) that lands with unforeseen result and causing mayhem, looks a bit student-like, and makes the film seem manipulated and even shallow. However, being an important subject, illustrating modern western moral decay through sexual decadence is an important one, it has some redeeming values. However, that massage as portrayed is quite coarse and unrefined. On top of that the acting is pretty bad all around. This looks like a pretty good student film that deals with an important subject, and I hope it's makers move on to better scripts. On the whole I would say that it is worth watching but not the best of it's kind.

This film is dark, sick and scary, I assume for the most part it does accurately describe parts of the sex industry and the damaged people who choose and yes I say choose to live in it. I find it very telling that most people in the industry either are screwed up going in or become screwed up while they are a part of it. What is it that attracts damaged people and also what is it that turns descent people into the scum of this earth. OK, back to the film, it seems to represent this lifestyle well, but still not the into the depth of say a Boogie Nights. The actors are of much lower quality and at times you feel that things are on screen just to shock you and not to add anything to the characters or storyline. Then there is what I call the Crash effect, let me explain, since the film Crash came out (one of the best films of all-time if you ask me) many films have tried to imitate the conversation storyline style and none have done it well or anything close to as well as Crash did. This film is no exception of this, it tries to hard to connect it's characters to the point where it just loses any kind of realism factor. Now I don't mind being surprised by a films end or how it connects it's characters when it's good and it works, this is not that. Overall an OK film that does take on some controversial issues without being overly graphic, but the actors and director tried to hard to make it more poignant then it was.

In Los Angeles, Jaron "Jizz" (Josh Janowicz) is a needy teenager that was molested when he was a child and works publishing advertisements for the sex industry. He discounts one hundred dollars in his paychecks to release Tara (Angela Sarafyan), who works in a peep cabin in Paulie's, for the powerful lord of the sex industry Jimmy Sours (Paul Ben-Victor). He teams-up with the whore Balery (Brittany Snow), who is seeking out a partner to steal a rich client, to raise the necessary money to pay Jimmy. Mr. Garrett (Eddie Jemison) is the perverted Health teacher of a high-school; his sluttish students Melody (Candice Accola) and Courtney (Chloe Dumont) like to tease him, crossing their legs while wearing mini-skirts to see him masturbating in his car. Mr. Garrett takes them to join the Internet porn industry and to use pills, and Melody is raped by the sick teacher. The escort Chantel (Shanna Collins) attends kinky clients to satisfy their fantasies and is protected by her pimp Wes (Clayne Crawford). When Wes tries to force the entry in a client's house, the man reacts and the lives of the lead characters are entwined in a tragedy.

"On the Doll" is a dark movie with a confused screenplay that recalls the style of "Crash" about perversions and sex industry that ends in tragedies. The characters in general are poorly developed like, for example, Tara. Is she the girl from Jaron's dream that felt off the roof on the sidewalk? The sympathetic Jaron is under therapy learning to take care of himself and his characters is reasonably developed. Mel and Courtney provoked the situation with their teacher acting like sluts. And Chantel and Wes are the less interesting characters. It is great to see Theresa Russell still very beautiful and elegant since I am a fan of this underrated actress. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Prazeres Proibidos" ("Forbidden Pleasures")